Handling of biscuits



March 5, 1957 HANDLING OF BISCUITS Filed July l0, 1953 A. c. PAGE 2,783,866

. w a Cqr nEil:u$ PAGE INVFIKNTOR Mud! av Mas nit d tat s, Ps

2,783,866 HANDLING OF BISCUITS Alfred Cornelius Page, Val-Ombre, Morges, Switzerland, assignor to Wrights Biscuits Limited, South Shields, England, a British company Application July 10, 1953, Serial No. 367,274 Claims priority, application Great Britain July 28, 1952 3 Claims. (Cl. 198-31) For various purposes, principally in connection with the packing of biscuits into tins, cartons and other containers, it has been proposed to feed the biscuits, on edge, to a loading platform and to move the charges formed on the platform forward by a step-by-step movement. The biscuits after they leave the loading platform are, of course, supported by guides so that they remain on edge and do not fall down. Now, when square or rectangular biscuits are being handled, such a process can be carried out satisfactorily, but when round, or nonrectangular, biscuits are being handled it has been found that there is a tendency for the charges of biscuits to run away, particularly if the surface over which they are being moved by the step-by-step movement slopes slightly downwards. It is the chief object of the present invention to provide means whereby the charges of biscuits may be maintained intact during the step-by-step travel.

According to the present invention the charges of biscuits are fed through pivoted shutters, which are spaced to define the steps of movement of the charges of biscuits and which are loosely held down in the path of the biscuits in such a manner that, until a definite force is applied to move the charge of biscuits forward, they prevent movement of the biscuits past the point assigned to the particular step movement in question.

All chance of the biscuits running away is thereby avoided even should the biscuits be round and the surface over which they are moved not quite level.

It is convenient to control the shutters by small magnets which hold the shutters in their operative position until pressure is applied to the shutters.

In order that this invention may be the more clearly understood and more readily carried into effect, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the present invention, and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates the state of affairs just prior to the first charge of biscuits on edge being fed forwardly.

Figure 2 illustrates the state of affairs when three charges of biscuits have been fed forward due to the step-by-step movement, and

Figure 3 illustrates the state of affairs when a complete set of charges of biscuits has been assembled ready to be moved forward, as a whole, into the tin or the like.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the charges of biscuits 10, which we will assume to be round and on edge, are moved forward by a step-by-step movement from the loading platform 11 on which they are formed over a plate or surface 12 to a tin or other container 13 into which they are to be packed. Each charge of biscuits as it moved ofi the platform 11 by, for example, a pusher 14 moves the charges of biscuits in advance of the same forward one step. In Figure 2 the right-hand charge of biscuits 10 has been moved forwards two steps, the middle charge of biscuits one step and the left-hand charge of biscuits 10 is ready to be moved with its first step of movement. Freely suspended over the plate 12 as, for example, on pivots 15 are a plurality of spaced shutters 16, the spacing of the shutters being slightly greater than the width of the biscuits 10 being handled. The shutters are lightly held in a vertical position, as shown in Figure 1, in which they extend into the path of the charge of biscuits by any suitable means such, for example, as magnets 17.

When a charge of biscuits 10 is advanced it raises the shutter 16 in front of the same, against the pull of the magnet 17, but the step-by-step movement of-the charge of biscuits 10 is such that after having raised a shutter it does not move past the next shutter which thereby remains in the path of the biscuits and so prcvents the biscuits running away. This will be appreciated from Figures 2 and 3 where it will be seen that, in advance of the assembled and moved charges of hiscuits, there is a downwardly extending shutter 16 which is still held in position by its magnet 17. When the desired number of charges of biscuits has been assembled the pusher 14 may make a longer stroke to push them all into the tin 13, in so doing raising the last and righthand pivoted shutter 16. After the charges of biscuits have been passed over the plate 12, the shutters 16 fall under the action of gravity and are held by the magnets and are ready for the next cycle of operations.

In some cases it may be found that the weight of the shutters themselves is sufiicient to prevent the biscuits running away, in which case the magnets 17 or other corresponding means of holding the shutters may be dispensed with.

. I claim:

1. Apparatus for controlling the forward movement of a rounded object such as a biscuit in a fashion whereby maximum restraining force is first applied to said object and upon advancement of said object the restraining force is rapidly diminished in intensity, said apparatus including a member affording a substantially horizontal surface, means for intermittently projecting one of said objects upon' the surface near one extremity thereof, means for intermittently applying to said object a force tending to impell said object forwardly, and means for applying to the object said restraining force, said last means including a shutter, at least partly formed of paramagnetic material, a pivot suspending said shutter to hang vertically above the path of movement of said object so that said object is intercepted by the lower end of said shutter when hanging vertically and becomes free from interception when said shutter has been pushed forwardly to a predetermined angle, whereupon said restraining force is then terminated, and relatively fixed magnetic means engaging at least partly the paramagnetic portion of said shutter when said shutter hangs vertically, whereby forward inclination of said shutter separates the two engaging magnetic elements and thereby rapidly reduces said restraining force, so as to facilitate forward movement of said object.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said magnets are formed of permanently magnetized material.

3. Apparatus for controlling charges of biscuits which are fed forward by a step-by-step movement, and more particularly for preventing charges of round biscuits being fed forwards by a step-by-step movement, on edge, from running away, including a member having a horizontal surface over which the charges of biscuits, on edge, are fed by a step-by-step movement, and a plurality of shutters pivotally mounted above the said surface so as to define the steps of movement of the charges of biscuits, means for loosely holding down said Patented Mar. 5, 1957 tion, Said 'las'tmeans ifitfhiiiihg a portion of each shutter formed of paramagnetic material and magnets, each so References Cited .in the file of this patent UN'l'TED STATES PATENTS Cumfer June 20, Mueller Feb. 10, Sillars July 6,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Sept. 18, 

